UK unemployment dips to 3.8% at end of 2023

London: Britain’s unemployment rate dipped in the final quarter of last year, but wages growth eased as the country’s inflation stays elevated, official data showed on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 per cent from 3.9 per cent in the three months to the end of November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

The 3.9-per cent rate had been revised down from an initial reading of 4.2 per cent in ONS data published last week. The statistics office on Tuesday cautioned that the data remained volatile.

“It is clear that growth in employment has slowed over the past year,” ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, said in the latest release.

“Over the same period the proportion of people neither working nor looking for work has risen, with historically high numbers of people saying they are long-term sick.”

The ONS added that UK average regular earnings growth eased to 6.2 per cent in the final quarter of last year.

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

“It’s good news that real wages are on the up for the sixth month in a row and unemployment remains low, but the job isn’t done,” finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in reaction.

“Our tax cuts are part of a plan to get people back to work so we can grow the economy – but we must stick with it.”

Analysts are forecasting the government to trim taxes further ahead of a general election due this year.

The Conservative party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, trails far behind main opposition Labour in the polls and tax cuts are seen as a chance to close the gap.